Water

Wild Rivers, Wild Brews

Clean water and healthy rivers are essential for great tasting beer. Clean water also plays a critical role in supporting healthy communities with drinking water, providing habitat for fish and wildlife and supporting local agriculture. Right now, some of the wildest, cleanest waters in the US are being threatened by proposed industrial strip mines. Our coalition of southern Oregon breweries is asking craft brewers across Oregon to stand together in support of protections that would keep the crystal clear, salmon-studded waters of the Kalmiopsis clean for communities, fish and wildlife and local businesses.

The water drawn from the taps of two-thirds of Oregonians comes from our state’s rivers, streams, and lakes. Our cleanest water comes from rivers and streams flowing through unspoiled public forest lands. Unfortunately, many of our waterways have been degraded by pollution, dams, logging, and other development over the last century.

The good news is that by protecting and restoring Oregon’s forests and rivers, we can safeguard our clean water, sustain our economy, and maintain a thriving brewing industry. Recognizing the synergy between the mission of brewing great beer, protecting the rivers and watersheds that make it possible, and the value of good brews and a healthy environment to Oregonians, Oregon Wild is working to create a partnership between brewers and conservationists who are committed to protecting the forests, wildlands, and waters that make our state such a great place to live, work, and enjoy great beer. We call it the Oregon Brewshed® Alliance.

The McKenzie River Trust protects and cares for special lands and the rivers that flow through them in western Oregon.

-Protecting special lands: The McKenzie River Trust acquires property interests in land with clear public benefits to ensure that those values will be available to people for many generations.

-Restoring natural systems. The Trust works to enhance and reestablish the native vegetation, water cycles and other functional ecosystem elements appropriate to the places we protect.

-Connecting people to places they care about. The Trust provides site tours, education events, demonstration and research sites, and information about the projects it manages to encourage public support for conservation efforts throughout the region.